Rain Does Not Stop Play

While the US Open is in a rain delay up at Flushing Meadows I still managed to get in my 5x1,000m repeat workout at a rain soaked Franklin Field this lunch time.
From the time I woke up at 10.30am till stepping onto the track at 1pm I had options,not running,which frankly is never really an option,waiting out the rain which w/ hindsight wouldn't have worked,switching from 5x1,000m to a 5,000m time trial which I considered or just sucking it up and saying ok it's raining,so what?,it's not like I've never ran in the rain b4.

After the warm up and stretches it was time to go for it,as best I could I needed to forget about the rain and just try to focus on the matter at hand......easier said than done when there's wind and driving rain but like the old Cher comment when she was a spokesperson for Ballys "they're just excuses"

1,000m#1,1.14,1.18,37-3.09.52.a great start perhaps a little too great,w/ hindsight I wish I'd paid more attention to that second lap,I thought 2.32 at 800m was a shade slow,turns out it was exactly the same split of repeats#1 and #2 last week,had I 've known that maybe I wouldn't have upped the pace over the closing 200m.
1,000m#2,1.16,1.17,36-3.09.98.another strong 1k but perhaps too strong,last week when I opened 1.14,1.18,40,1.14.1.18,39.I was able to hold onto that pace,then again last week wasn't conducted in wind and driving rain.
1,000m#3,1.17,1.18,39-3.14.12.the start of the rot,had I opened in 3.12s maybe I'd be better equipped to handle the fatigue that was setting in.
1,000m#4,1.20,1.24,41-3.25.17.could somebody call AAA I think my wheels may've just fallen off!!!,shades of week 1 repeat#4.
1,000m#5,1.19,1.22,36-3.17.19.a far cry from last week but then again the conditions were completely different also last weeks combined splits were 15.59,today 16.14.

I can take some solice from at least meeting the conditions head on rather than duck them,it's another 5x1,000m repeat prior to Syracuse,granted not a great one but hopefully come Wednesday the conditions will be more favourable and so will be the splits,who knows maybe my socks will have dried off by then!!

Treading A Fine Line.

W/ the passing of Labor Day comes the new fall semester which means the time honoured issue of access and availability of Franklin Field,I went into today not knowing if I'd be able to get on the track for my in and out 400s this afternoon,not exactly the way you want to prepare for a workout.
Then there was the backdrop of US Open 1/4 finals and World Cup qualifiers,more distractions I needed to cast to one side and focus on the matter at hand,150m,250m jog,150m,250m jog,4x400m,"decathlon mile".

I was pleasantly surprised to be able to get on the track at 4.20pm when I arrived at Franklin Field,next week could be a different story but we'll worry about that next Monday,after my stretches and warm up it was time to have at it for week #3 of in and out 400s.

21.44-22.58 for my 150s,a minor improvement on last weeks 21.89-23.00,a good start.
400#1,61.84.off of 150/100/150 splits of 24/12/25.I had've prefered a 60 to open like the last 2 weeks but hey.
400#2,62.65-24/12/26.close to identical splits from my opener but a second slower.......
400#3,63.16-24/12/27.so consistent over the opening 250m but once again that final 150m got away from me.
400#4,65.35-25/12/28.my slowest 400 to date,ger!

I couldn't have asked for a better response come my mile,splits of 1.27,1.31,1.30.70 gave me a 5.38.40. mile,I've seen my mile come down from 6.11.26 to 5.55.34. to now 5.5.38.40. and I look forward to seeing how much I can shave off of it next Monday.

Overall a good workout,the 150s were just a shade quicker than last week,my 400s were disappointing but the mile something to be proud of,till next week...

Labor Day

And so,this less than glorious summer has come to an end,a summer of firsts for me,my first summer since 05 there was no Outdoor Masters Nationals,my first summer since 05 w/out track meets at Plymouth Whitemarsh,my first summer since 04 I didn't run the Wisahickon Wanderers meet,the first year since 04 no hill repeats at Belmont......and the list goes on......
On a more positive note it was the first summer in eons I rode a bike which leads nicely into today's 28 miler along West River Drive this afternoon.

Since "junk miles" are no longer an option and a shake out run after yesterdays track meet wasn't doable I went w/ an easy 28 mile ride....a shake out ride if you like,since I have physical therapy Tuesday,Thursday I couldn't switch up my track rotation to Tue,Thur,Sat.
One plus of an easy 28 mile bike ride,it allowed me time to map out my two workouts on the track Wednesday and Friday,in and out 400s Wed,5x1,000m Friday b4 a 36 miler on the bike on Saturday.

I'm closing in on the half way point of phase two of my training,it was clearly evident yesterday that there's a real "need for speed" that hopefully will develop over the coming weeks as fall morphs into winter and the indoor season kicks off.

Gotta Start Somewhere.

"I wanna heal,I wanna feel what I thought was never real,I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long,erase all the pain till it's gone,I wanna heal I wanna feel like I'm close to something real I wanna find something I've wanted all along,somewhere I belong"
Somewhere I Belong Linkin Park.

Rewind,May 11th Swarthmore I limped through a 1,500m in 4.13.38.little did I know the horrors that were about to unfold,June 16th the gut wrenching decision to shut my season down to recover from my achilles tendon injury that cost me my shot at Worlds in Lahti,July 27th the begining of the long road back,September6th the final outdoor track meet of the season and my first races in 4 months.
I'd forgotten how a long a day a track meet can be,I was up by 5.30am,on the road by 6.50am and home again by 7.20pm.....all this for just under 7 minutes work.....but I wouldn't have traded it for anything,looking beyond the xs and os,my performance,my times,etc etc I remembered what it was like to travel and hang w/ my team mates and friends,granted there'll be road races and cross county meets between now and December but,there's something about a track meet that sets it aside from those,you get the chance to watch other compete,you learn how to kill time between events and juggle staying relaxed and getting ready for your next event.

In the mile I figured Kyle and Nick to be my main rivals so when they hit the front from the gun I moved in behind them going down the back straight,66 seconds at 400m and 2.16 at 800m b4 Kyle pealed off.
Obviously it's too early for me to be mixing it up w/ the leaders and down the back straight I was now relegated to third,w/ 700m to go it was all about seeing it through,in the coming weeks and months I'll work on the three s's,speed,strength and stamina so that come December when indoor track begins I'm not so much of a passenger in my races.
Third in 4.49.01.,humbeling when you're used to running a 4.30 mile but that'll come.

In the 800m I felt another of my team mates Dave would be my main rival and from the gun it was a GPTC 1-2 going into the first turn w/ David holding the inside lane and me on his outside.
65 seconds at the bell,again well below what I'm used to but for today it felt comfortable.
Opting to tuck in behind Dave down the back straight almost proved to be my undoing,unbeknown to me Kenny Edwards was breathing down my neck,had I've known that I'd have held my position on Dave's shoulder forcing Kenny wide into lane two if he wanted to overtake.
Half way down the back straight Kenny went by me,ring rust or not the competitor kicked in,rather than settle for third as I had in the mile I regrouped and coming off the final turn dug deep to make up the deficit on Kenny,it was neck and neck coming up the home straight and I did just enough to get him b4 the line.
Second in 2.10.76.again time wise it's well below what I expect of myself but I do believe this will come over the next few months,to put things in some perspective when I suffered my stress fracture in 07/08 my come back mile was 4.59.63 followed a day later by a woeful 2.13 800m so in that respect I'm ahead of where I was 18 months ago.

My achilles didn't feel any the worse for wear today which is huge,hopefully by the time the indoor season comes along my achilles will be strong enough to get back into my flats/spikes but all in all today was a day I can look back on w/ some satisfaction,all journeys have to begin somewhere,here's hoping my 2010 season got a kick start today.

Pre Race Anxiety

"Can't you hear my heartbeat?hear the way it sounds?can't you hear my heartbeat?y'hear the way it pounds?just give me something to slow it down,yeah
Sometimes in the city,sometimes in my car,I pound on the windows like a bee inside a jar
Anxiety,got me on the run.
Anxiety Pat Benatar

For the second time in two years I'm heading to Langley Virginia for the season ending Potomac Valley Games,the curtain call on the outdoor track season.
Unlike two years ago when I came in to this meet on the back of my breakout Masters Nationals performance in Orono Maine this year I come in w/ a mere 6 weeks of training under my belt after my achilles tendon injury derailed my 09 outdoor season to the point where tomorrow will be only my fourth outdoor meet since the Germantown Friends meet back on April 11th and what turned out to be my last meet at Haverford on May 11th.

Who knows what to expect tomorrow?for the rest of the field it's the end of a long summer for me it's a chance to see where I'm at off of my 6 weeks of training and where I'm at heading into the fall w/ 5th Avenue Mile and Masters 5k C'ships looming on the horizon in 3 and 4 weeks time,one thing's for sure when that gun goes off at 11am tomorrow for the mile I'm gonna be ready,afterall I've waited all summer for a chance to race.

Next Stop,Langley Virginia.

If last weeks 5x1,000m debut was me testing the waters then today was a full blown cannonball into the deep end,w/ no apologies to anybody caught in the splashes I created!!
As is my won't on a Friday I was able to conduct my workout b4 lunchtime,granted I had to deal w/ the heat but given the track would be off limits after 2.30pm for either women's field hockey or lacrosse it was the lesser of two evils,I'll take the noon sun over not being able to workout any day.

1,000m#1,1.14,1.18,40-3.12.54.After learning what pace I should be looking for throughout last week I told myself go out at 1.16-1.18 pace,so initially I thought my opening lap of 1.14. was too brisk................
1,000m#2,1.14,1.18,39-3.11.34.Very nearly a carbon copy of my opener,already after only 2 repeats I was in better form than last week.
1,000m#3,1.16,1.18,38-3.12.63.I was amazed at how consistent I'd been so far,could I keep it up?
1,000m#4,1.16,1.17,37-3.10.80.this was now scary consistent,I'm not used this level of Constancy in repeats....but I could grow to embrace it.
1,000m#5,1.19,1.21,34-3.14.70.while I was feeling the pace on the opening two laps there was no denying my ability to "bring it"in the final 200m.
15.59.for my combined time compared to last weeks 16.19.

This was a good workout for me,next week is an abridged week due to racing Sunday but you can best believe come next Friday lunchtime I'll be ready to tackle this repeat again and hopefully run it consistently and not have a final repeat slowdown.

Takin' The Good W/ The Bad

First up let me state there was no need to enlist the help of A.S.P.C.A.after this evenings repeats,I say this because frankly after I got done Mondays in and out 400s my tendon was hurting me to the point where I was having kittens!!!
The simple fact was wearing flats was w/ hindsight a tad premature so in order to keep my tendon sweet and Franklin Field kitten free no more flats for the foreseeable future.

After my mile warm up and stretches it was time to get after it,after my week 1 spectacular second half collapse and week 2 return to mile repeat respectability this evening I was looking to build upon that.
Mile#1,1.16.to open and it felt effortless,always a good sign.
2.36.at 800m, a 1.20.split.
3.53.at the bell, a 1.17.split,this was shaping up for a fast opener.
5.08.89.thanks to a final lap of 1.15.,my fastest mile repeat over 4x1 to date.

Mile#2,1.18.to open,predictably a tad slower off of such a brisk mile to open.
2.40.at 800m, a 1.22.split,so much for today being the day to elliminate plus 1.20 splits,an opening mile of 5.08.89. will do that.
4.02.at the bell,another 1.22.split.
5.19.47.w/ a 1.17.lap to close,at least I was under 5.20.

Mile#3,1.22.to open,I kind of knew what to expect from this mile already.
2.47.at 800m a 1.25.split,not unexpected but not welcomed either.
4.10.at the bell,a 1.23.split,it was slow but at least I wasn't mailing it in.
5.25.81.off of a 1.15. final lap,if I could've lowered my splits on laps 2 and 3 I might've gone under 5.20.

Mile#4,1.17.to open,in almost three years of mile repeats I've told myself countless times"open the final mile w/ as strong an opening lap as you can"and you set the tone....
2.39.at 800m,a 1.22.split,ergo the need to open strong.
4.02.at the bell,a1.23.split,shades off mile#2
5.12.55.off of a 70 second final lap.

Overall I can't be too upset opening in 5.08.89.and closing in 5.12.55.,now I just need to lower my middle two mile repeats......no kittens were born during this workout!!!